It Could Happen To You - Part 1
by Matt.PFan
Summary: A new series. C&M - of course!
1. Default Chapter

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**It Could Happen To You - Part 1**

Monica Bing stepped out the car, a smile on her face. She looked up at the house, closed her eyes and sighed deeply. It was certainly her dream house and she was so glad that she and her husband had agreed to buy it. Of course, it was a bit steep and they had to borrow from the bank but it was worth it in the end. They had bought the house 10 years ago but it had only seemed like a week ago that Monica had stepped out of the taxi and into her new home. 

Chandler opened his eyes and found them staring into someone elses. He blinked a couple of times, trying to clear the fog. When his eyes and mind were cleared he decided than he was staring into the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. 

"Hi, honey. Good trip?" He asked as Monica leaned down to kiss him softly on the lips. 

"It was all right, apart from the weather, the delayed plane and missing you." Monica told him as she scrambled over him to climb into the bed. 

"Well, I'm glad you missed me. We didn't miss you that much."..."Joking!" He shot back as she threw her pillow at him. 

By 'We' he meant himself and their 3 children - Paddy, which was short for Patrick, who was 9. Paddy was tall for his age with black hair and blue eyes. He enjoyed playing computer games and was very helpful when it came to keeping his younger brother and sister in line. Paddy's sister is called Elizabeth but everyone calls her Ellie for short. She has shoulder length brown hair with piercing blue eyes. She's very shy and quiet but enjoys having fun. Unfortunatelty she doesn't get on very well with her brothers. She's 7 years old. The youngest of the 3 children is Denny. He's 4 years old with brown hair and blue eyes. His favourite word at the time is 'no' and he loves peanut butter and jam sandwiches. 

Monica glanced at the clock next to her. It read 5.30. That meant they could have another hour of sleep before Denny would wake up. She rolled over and placed her arm across Chandler's stomach. She saw him smile so she leaned in and softly kissed his cheek. He returned the kiss and wrapped his arm around her. They fell asleep with their arms around each other. 

Paddy slowly opened his eyes and gazed at his surroundings. It was a fairly large room with two bookcases, two chest of drawers, two beds and two comfy chairs. The reason there was 2 of everything was because Paddy had to share with Denny. He was a bit reluctant at first but when his parents had told him he could chose the paint he happily agreed. He had decided to go red and blue - very American. These two colours were also his favourites. Two of the walls were painted red with blue spots and the other two were blue with red spots. He had done it himself with a little help from Denny and Ellie. Their parents hadn't known about it and they nearly hit the roof but then they realised that he had only tried to help so they let him off with just not allowed to watch television or play a computer game for a day. 

Paddy's bed was underneath a window which was opposite the door. Along from his bed was Denny's. Paddy sat up and saw that Denny had gone. Paddy decided that he had better go and find him. After all, it was Sunday and his parents rather enjoyed a lie in - or as much of a lie in as they could get. He got out of bed and walked across the room to the door on the soft blue carpet. Reaching up, he pulled down a red dressing gown and wrapped it around his blue pyjamas. Slowly he opened the door and walked down the corridor to his parents room. 

Monica opened her eyes when she saw Paddy open the door. She watched him look around the room and then when he caught her eye she asked, 

"What's wrong?" 

"Sorry to wake you. Have you seen Denny?" 

"Yes. I sent him downstairs to watch cartoons. Could you go and watch him?" 

"Sure. Great to have you back, Mum." Paddy told her as he walked over to give her a hug. 

"Great to be back." She told him. Paddy left and slowly closed the door after him. Monica smiled as he left. Next to her she felt Chandler stir. 

"Who was that?" He asked, groggily. He rubbed his eyes and sat up. 

"Paddy, he was looking for Denny." 

"Ok." Chandler said and then he glanced at the clock it was 7.39. "Hey, Mon, you'd better get up before you have 4 hungry people awake." 

"You know, you could make breakfast yourself." 

"I could but you make THE best bagels and srambled egg ever." Chandler told her as he gave her his best puppy dog eyes. Monica looked at him sideways as she thought about it, 

"All right! On two conditions - one, you make sure everyone is dressed before breakfast and two, you give me a kiss." 

"Done and done." Chandler told her as he leaned over to give her a kiss. 

Chandler knocked on a white door. He was now dressed and wearing a pair of jeans with a red shirt. He heard a little voice say, 'Come in.' so he let himself in. He found himself in a small room with pale purple walls and white curtains, which had been drawn apart to let the morning sun in. In the far corner was a table which had pencils, paper and a lamp on. Two small plastic chairs were tucked underneath it. Opposite the table, under the window, were 3 big purple cushions. Around the cushions on the floor were lots and lots of books. Some were big, some small, some thing, some thick, some paperback, some hardback. A bookcase, which didn't have many books in as they were all on the floor, on the wall next to the wall with the window. The wall opposite this one had a chest of drawers and down from the chest of drawers was a bed. Sitting on the bed was Ellie. She was wearing a pair of pink leggings with a white t-shirt. Her hair was falling back over her shoulders, it had been brushed and now she was just waiting to have it put up by her mum. 

"Hey, didn't you hear your mum calling?" Chandler asked as he sat down next to her. 

"I'm not hungry." 

"She made bagels and scrambled egg." 

"I said, I'm not hungry." 

"Ellie, what's wrong?" 

"Nothing." 

"Is that 'Nothing' a 'There is geuninely nothing wrong. Nothing' or a 'There might be something wrong but I won't tell you unless it's over an ice-cream. Nothing'?" Chandler asked. Ellie looked up at him and smiled. 

"The second one." 

"Well, tell you what. How about we go downstairs and eat breakfast and then after lunch we'll go down to Baskin and Robbins and have some ice-cream." 

"Just us?" Ellie asked. 

"Just us." Chandler agreed. 

Monica turned around from the stove when she felt someone tugging on her black trousers. She looked down and saw Denny standing next to her, holding an empty plate up to her. 

"Thank you, sweetie. Do you want to put it in the sink?" 

"No." Denny said and continued holding the empty plate up to her. 

"Just a little bit." Monica told him and she gave him a spoonful of scrambled egg. Giggling, Denny went back to sit at the table next to Paddy. Denny reached over for the orange juice and in the process he knocked orange juice all over Paddy's egg and bagel. 

"Mum!" Paddy complained. Monica turned around to see what the fuss was about. "Denny spilled orange juice all over my egg and bagel." 

"I thought you had finished." 

"Well, I have now. But I'm still hungry - I'd only eaten a quarter of it." 

"Tell you what. Why don't you have Denny's and I'll give you another bagel to go with it." Monica told him. She walked up to Denny and knelt down so their faces were at the same level. "Denny, could you go and build Mummy someting?" 

"Yea!" Denny said, rushing off. He enjoyed building things, especially if they were for his mummy. 

"Simple. Easy. And painless." Monica said to Paddy as she handed him Denny's plate. 

Ellie sat in the car, silent. She was waiting for Chandler to find his jacket and wallet. She was looking foward to the ice-cream but then she realised that if she had the ice-cream she would have to tell him. She knew it was the bes thing to do but she didn't know how to. It had been 5 hours between agreeing to go to Baskin and Robbins and now. In those 5 hours she had eaten breakfast, watched some television, gotten into a fight with her brothers and then had soup for lunch. She kept quiet during lunch, as normal, and only spoke to ask someone to pass her something or when someone asked her a question. 

There was a tap on the window. Ellie glanced up and saw Paddy and Denny standing there. She opened the door and stepped out. 

"Where are you going?" Denny asked. 

"Out with Daddy." 

"But we always play soccer with him after lunch on Sunday." Paddy said. 

"He asked me before breakfast." 

"You're just trying to take him away. You're so selfish." Paddy told her. 

"Yea! Selfish!" Denny echoed. Ellie slowly stepped away. Then she looked up when she heard the front door opening. She stared at Chandler as he walked out of the door and pulled it shut. Then she glanced back at her brothers who were glaring at her. Not wasting a second she turn and ran down the street. 

Chandler called after her but she didn't come back. He looked at they way she had gone. Reckoning that she had gone to the lake at the park he glanced at his watch. 

"2 hours." Chandler said to himself. "2 hours. Then I'll go after her." 

With that he walked back into the house with Denny and Paddy in tow. 

Authors Note: Sorry that not much happened in this one. I was just getting you introduced to the characters. 


	2. It Could Happen To You - Part 2

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**It Could Happen To You - Part 2**

Ellie turned the corner fast. Her hair was sticking to her face and she was out of breath. Deciding that she was far enough away from anyone to catch her, she slowed down. Bending down to tie up her shoelace she tried to catch her breath. Standing up she found herself on her best friend's street. Deciding to visit him, she looked right, left and right again before crossing the street. 

As Chandler walked back into the house he was confronted by Monica. Her eyes were full of hope. But when she saw the look on Chandler's face she knew that it wasn't good news. 

"You didn't find her?" She asked as she followed him into the kitchen. 

"No. I went to the lake and then I went to Terri's. She hasn't seen her." Chandler said as he took his jacket off and rubbed his face with his hands. "I have no idea where she might be." Monica sighed and leaned against Chandler, putting her arms around him. She glanced up when she saw Paddy and Denny walk quietly into the room. They felt really guilty about making Ellie run away but when they saw Monica beckon them over they knew it was all right. 

The four of them stood around in a big group, thinking about where Ellie could be. Suddenly Paddy jumped up. 

"I know where she is!" He shrieked. The others stopped and stared. 

"Where is she then?" Monica demanded. 

"She's at Spud's." 

"But, Spud's is 5 miles away - she wouldn't have run to his house." Chandler stammered. 

"Wouldn't she?" 

Ellie sighed and stood up. She watched a small boy with red hair, green eyes and freckles pace up and down. 

"Come on, Spud! Please!" She begged. 

"Why do I have to come with you? Why can't you go by yourself?" 

"Cos it would be more fun with the two of us. Come on!" 

"Why are you running away anyway?" Spud stopped pacing and stood next to her. Ellie sank down onto the bed. 

"No one cares about me so I've decided to make them not have anything to care about." 

"But, I don't wanna leave. I'm only 7 and I'll miss my mum too much and her eggs!" Spud said. 

Ellie stood up and walked to the door, an angry look was on her face. 

"Fine! I'll go by myself!" She yelled. Slamming the door behind her, Spud could hear her stamping down the stairs. 

They were all sitting in the living room in complete silence. Paddy and Denny were sitting on one of the black leather sofas and Chandler and Monica werre sitting on the other. No one said a word. No one even moved. Everytime they heard a noise they all jumped up. One of these noises was when there was a knock at the door. They all jumped up and looked at each other eagerly. Paddy was the first to recover his emotions. He walked bravely to the door and opened it. Behind it was a policeman. Holding the door open, Paddy let the policeman in. As he walked in he removed his hat to reveal grey hair which was thinning on top. He was a short, pompous man with a cheery face but at the moment his face was anything but cheery. In fact, quite the opposite. 

"May I help you, officer?" Chandler asked as he walked towards him. 

"Yes. Did you report a missing girl?" 

"We did. Have you found her?" 

"We don't know. I'm very sorry to tell you this, sir, but we found a girl's body in Central Perk lake." 

The only noise to be heard was the sound of the thump as Monica fainted to the floor. 

Authors Note: SORRY SO SHORT! 


	3. It Could Happen To You - Part 3

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**It Could Happen To You - Part 3**

Chandler turned to look at his wife. He stared at her, not quite comprehending what had happened. Shaking his head, he seemed to snap out of his trance. Slowly he walked over to her, knelt down and gently cradled her head in his lap and tried to wake her up. 

The policeman felt really awkward. Glancing over at Paddy he mouthed that he was going to go. Paddy nodded and walked over to the door to hold it open. After seeing the policeman out he glanced over to Denny. Denny was sitting on the sofa, staring at his mum. Paddy knew that seeing her faint was making him upset and if she saw him upset it would make her upset. Grabbing Denny by the arm he pulled him to the playroom. 

The playroom was probably the second biggest room in the house - the biggest room was the living room. Also the playroom was the only room which could be a bit messy. In the playroom was everything a child could ask for. There was a television and video, comfy chairs, a children's art set and easel, a dolls house, a play town with cars and trains, lego, barbies and action men. The children loved it and often spent lots of time down there. 

"What's wrong with Mummy?" Denny asked his big brother. 

"She's upset." Paddy told him. 

"Why?" 

"She heard some bad news." 

"What?" 

"You ask too many questions. Go and build something." Paddy ordered. Denny eagerly ran to the building bricks and labouriously took them out of the box one by one. Once they were all out he sorted them into colours, red, blue, green and yellow. Then he started building. A red square, 5 blocks wide byt 5 blocks square. and then yellow on top of that, and then blue on top of that and finally green. After admiring his master piece he jumped up and ran out into the garden. Paddy got up from a chair and followed him. 

When Monica opened her eyes Chandler leaned down and gently kissed her. She smiled up at him and he leaned down again to kiss her on the lips. Helping her to her feet they walked over to sit on the sofa together. 

"You don't think it's Ellie, do you?" Monica asked the moment they sat down. 

"No, I don't think it is. I'm hoping that it isn't." Chandler smiled sadly. 

"I don't know what I would do if it was her." 

"I know what you mean." 

There was a knock at the door. Remembering what had happened last time they had opened the door, they looked at each other a few times before Monica got up and walked bravely to it. As she opened it, a small, grubby hand thrust a bunch of daisies at her. Mystified she took them and then looked to see who had given them to her. Denny was standing there with a hopeful look on his face. 

"Paddy said you was upset so I picked some flowers for you." He told her, shyly. 

"Oh! They are beautiful!" Monica exclaimed and bent down to give him a kiss. "Thank you, darling!" She looked at her watch. "Young man, I think it's time for bed." 

"Nonononononononono!!!!!!" Denny shrieked. He ran around and around. Monica just watched him. Normally she would laugh but not this time. Chandler noticed and went over to scoop Denny up. Chandler carried him on his shoulder, like a fireman, to the door and then turned to look at Paddy. 

"I think you'd better go to bed too." 

"Ok, night Mum, night Dad." He walked over to both of them and gave them each a kiss before making his way up to his room. He had wanted to stay up but decided against arguing with his parents. 

Once Denny had been washed, brushed his teeth and gone to the toilet, Chandler was finally tucking him into bed. After reading him Thomas The Tank Engine, Chandler stood up to leave. 

"Where's Ellie?" 

"S-She's staying at a friends." Chandler told him. Denny seemed satisfied with this answer and rolled over to go to sleep. Checking that Paddy was in bed - and he was, reading a book, Chandler left, leaving the door open a crack. Walking downstairs, he glanced into the living room and decided that Monica had gone to bed. He turned around to go back upstairs then he remembered the dirty dishes in the sink. As he washed the dishes, tears were rolling off his cheeks and into the hot water. 

It was probably at around 7.30 that the doorbell rang. Muttering to herself, Monica climbed out of bed, donned her dressing gown and walked down the stairs. Opening the door she was faced by two official looking people - one man, one lady - wearing smart clothes. The pulled out their badges and held them up to her face. 

"Agent Edward Tiquan." The man said. 

"Agent Regina Folie." The lady said. 

"FBI." They told her in unison. Bewildered she held the door open to the them. 

"Who are these people, honey?" Chandler asked. He had also heard the doorbell and had followed her downstairs. 

"They're from the FBI. Um, how can we help you?" 

"I'm very sorry to tell you this but the body in the lake is your daughter's. We did a blood and DNA test. I'm very sorry." Regina told them. 

Monica stood there, trying to take the news in. Chandler walked over and wrapped his arms around her. Tears were streaming down his face but no tears came to Monica's eyes. Her expression was blank. 

"Shall we tell them now?" Edward whispered to Regina. Chandler looked up, sharply. 

"Tell us what?" Chandler asked through his tears. 

"I know that this probably isn't the best time to tell you but your daughter's...death wasn't an accident." 

"What?!" 

"She was murdered." 

Authors Note: Sorry so short! The next ones will be longer. 


	4. It Could Happen To You - Part 4

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**It Could Happen To You - Part 4**

Everyone was completely shocked by the news of Ellie's death. They each mourned in a different way. Chandler would burst into tears whenever he saw a picture of her or anyone talked about her. Paddy sat in his room, gazing at the window, the tears rolling silently down his face. Denny would walk aimlessly about the house - looking for his sister. And then there was Monica. She didn't do anything, literally. She didn't cry, she didn't talk, she didn't eat, she didn't even sleep. She just sat there, on the sofa, staring straight in front of her. The family could handle it for the first few days but when it had gone on for over 3 weeks they started to get worried. Everyone had done their grieving, even though they did mourn sometimes. Chandler decided to take her to the pyschiatrist, which they had been to see a few times before. 

The pyschiatrist's office was painted a pale yellow. The carpet was cream and in a line to the desk you could see where the clumsy receptionist had spilt coffee and not bothered to clear it up. In the corner was a large, wooden bookcase with big, hardback books - most about pyschiatry. Opposite the bookcase was a sofa with some toys for children to play with. Underneath the window, which was opposite the wall where the door was, was a large, comfy swivel chair. The chair was at a desk and on the other side of the desk were two other chairs. The desk was a msess with papers, books, a phone and computer. A name block faced towards the two chairs. It read Dr Pat Faithwate. 

"Ah, it's the Bing family." Dr Pat said. She was a medium height woman with copper hair and green eyes. 

"That's right." Chandler said and went foward to shake her hand. The boys nodded politely but Monica didn't do anything, she just stared in front of her. "Kids, why don't you go and play?" They walked over to the toys and started to play with them. 

"Please, take a seat." Pati said, indicating to the two chairs. She sat in her own chair and leaned back. Chandler pulled out a chair and Monica sat down in it, still silent. Chandler sat down in the other chair. 

"Tell me, Chandler, how are you?" 

"I'm fine. Well, not fine but better than I was. I can just about survive when I see a picture of her." Chandler smiled. Pat nodded, pleased with his progress. 

"And, Monica, how are you?" Pat asked. Monica remained silent, her face was expressionless. This was hopeless. They had been to see Pat 4 times now and everytime she came to Monica it was the same response. Pat decided to try a different tactic. 

"Monica, what did you like best about Ellie?" 

Monica's expressionless face softened. Her eyes became warm and she smiled, remembering Ellie. 

"Her smile. Whenever Ellie smiled it made you smile too. Even if you were in a bad mood. I remember, once, I had just come home from work. It had been a horrible day and it was raining. I opened the door and found Ellie standing there, a smile from ear to ear. She was just happy to see me." 

"That's good. Well done, Monica." Pat smiled at her and Monica smiled back. Chandler smiled as well and reached for Monica's hand. Giving it a tiny squeeze, Monica turned to look at him. They talked silently with their eyes. Then they smiled at each other. They knew that their relationship was building back up again. 

"Have you decided on funeral arrangements yet?" 

"Well, we've decided that the funeral will be 2 weeks today - and you are welcome." Monica told her. 

"I'll be honoured to be there." Pat said, smiling at them. Chandler and Monica stood up and put their coats on. 

"Come on, kids!" Monica called over her shoulder to the two boys. Chandler mouthed thank you to Pat before closing the door behind him. 

It was a long and tiring 2 weeks. Everyday there were news bulletins about how they were trying to find the killer. About every other day Monica or Chandler went down to the lake. The mass of flowers were growing day by day. By now there were over a 1000 bunches, along with cards and toys. It bought a sad smile to their faces when they realised how much everyone cared. 

It was early Saturday afternoon, just 1 month after Ellie had run away. Monica was clearing the table and Chandler was loading the dishwasher. Paddy and Denny were sitting at the table, waiting to be excused. It was a rule in their household. No one was allowed to leave the table until everything had been cleared up. Just as Chandler closed the door to the dishwasher, the doorbell rang. Monica wiped her hands and walked through the living room to get to the hall. She opened the door and found Spud and Terri behind it. Terri was a tall girl with blonde hair and green eyes. 

"Hi Mrs Bing!" They said together. 

"Hello, you two. Please come in." She held the door open and ushered them into the living room. Sitting down on the sofa they glanced at each other. Monica came in with Chandler, Denny and Paddy. "How can we help you?" 

"Well," stared Terri, "We was wonderin' if me and 'im could sing a song for Ellie." 

"What sort of song?" Chandler asked. 

"Well we thought 2 of her favourite songs." Spud said. Chandler and Monica looked at each other and talked with their eyes. Finally Monica turned to look at them. 

"That'll be fine." She said, smiling at them. 

They stood up, said goodbye to the Bings and left. 

The Bings looked at each other and gave each other sad smiles. In a weeks time Ellie would be gone for good. 


End file.
